Micro C-4 semiconductor die and method for depositing connection sites thereon

ABSTRACT

A semiconductor die having multiple solder bumps, each having a diameter less than about 100 microns, and the method for making such a die are described. The solder bumps are preferably about 10 microns in diameter, and the pitch between the solder bumps is less than 100 microns, and preferably less than or equal to 10 microns. A thermal solder jet apparatus is utilized to deposit solder material to form the solder bumps. The apparatus includes a print head having a plurality of solder ejection ports. Each ejection port has an associated gas ejection conduit connected to a chamber containing one or more hydride films. The hydride film is heated to disassociate hydrogen gas. The hydrogen gas rapidly builds up in the conduit which leads to the ejection port which is loaded with a solder material and forces the ejection of the solder material from the port. A controller controls and choreographs the movements of the movable substrate and movable drive so as to accurately deposit material in desired locations on the semiconductor dies.

This is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/546,084, filed Apr. 10, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,435,396, thedisclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to semiconductor dies and moreparticularly to forming connection sites on flip chip semiconductordies.

BACKGROUND

The formation of connection sites on integrated circuits is well known.Conventional methods of forming connection sites are described, forexample, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,117,299 (Rinne et al.) and U.S. Pat. No.6,074,895 (Dery et al.).

With the growing complexity and increased numbers of transistors whichcan be placed on a single ULSI chip or die has come additional demandson the wiring and connection site processes. The number of internalmetal layers required to interconnect the newer, more complexmicroprocessors has dramatically increased, as have the number ofexternal connection sites. Due to the increased complexity, lower yieldand added cost associated with the metallurgy, it is desirable tofabricate smaller semiconductor dies and place more wiring levels in thepackaging. To accomplish this without degrading performance, a largenumber of exterior die connection sites are required.

One of the most efficient and compact ways for providing external dieconnection sites uses solder bumps in the so-called flip chip or C-4(i.e., the Controlled Collapse Chip Connection) process. This technologyeliminates the need to wire bond connections from the die bond pads to apackaging lead frame, and offers more connection sites, higher speeds,improved heat transfer, and can be used with smaller die sizes. AlthoughC-4 technology is somewhat costly in terms of time, materials, andequipment, and although it presents certain environmental issues, theuse of solder bumped integrated circuits is growing at a significantrate. At present, conventional large flip chip semiconductor dies mayprovide hundreds of connection sites.

The importance of this technology is underscored by the formation of the“MicroFab Consortium” (MicroFab) of private and governmental entitiesfor the purpose of exploring and developing new methods for applyingsolder bumps and other materials to integrated circuit dies, opticalcircuits, hybrids, chip carriers and other devices. The literaturesuggests that MicroFab has successfully developed manufacturingprototypes of piezoelectrically actuated print heads for ejectinglow-melting point solder balls of well-defined sizes at ratesapproaching several kilohertz (kHz). Although piezoelectric-based solderball printers have several attractive characteristics, they are limitedby the fact that piezoelectric device strength decreases rapidly withrising temperatures and vanishes at their Curie temperatures. The Curietemperatures of useful ceramics are well under 300° C. Thus, the abilityto manipulate solder viscosity and surface tension by raisingtemperature is limited in such print heads. Other significantlimitations to using piezoelectric-based print heads includes theircomplexity and the great difficulty in mass producing them in large,inexpensive, relatively light weight arrays.

Thus, a need exists for a method of forming a micro flip chip whichcontains a very high density of solder bumps, and to do so in a waywhich is not restricted by the Curie temperatures of the print headmaterials.

SUMMARY

The invention provides a flip chip semiconductor die which includes asubstrate, a plurality of bond pads located on the substrate, and aplurality of solder bumps deposited on the bond pads. Each of the solderbumps is less than about 100 microns in diameter and the solder bumpsare aligned in rows such that the pitch between solder bumps within thesame row is less than about 100 microns. In a preferred embodiment, oneor both of the solder bump diameter and pitch may be less than or equalto 10 microns.

The invention further provides a semiconductor device that includes adie having one or more a metallurgy layers positioned over a substrate,an insulating layer deposited on the uppermost metallurgy layer, and aplurality of exterior connection sites. A solder bump is deposited oneach connection site and is less than about 100 microns in diameter, andmay be less than or equal to 10 microns.

The invention also provides a system for depositing solder on aplurality of bond pads located on semiconductor dies. The systemincludes a movable substrate adapted to move at least one semiconductordie back and forth in a first plane, a movable drive including at leastone print head, and a controller for controlling the movements of themovable drive and the movable substrate. The movable drive is adapted tomove the print head back and forth in a second plane and the print headis adapted to deposit a solder bump at the connection sites of thesemiconductor die.

The invention further provides a print head adapted to deposit solderbumps having a diameter of less than 100 microns, and preferably 10 orless microns, and a pitch of less than 100 microns, and preferably 10 orless microns. The print head includes pockets of a metallic hydride,preferably titanium hydride, within one or more chambers. The print headfurther includes a solder reservoir, a solder conduit, a gas conduit andan ejection port. By passing a current through a heating element, thesolder in the solder reservoir is melted, allowing it to flow to theejection port. The metallic hydride pockets are heated to a temperaturesufficient to generate hydrogen, which increases the pressure of thehydrogen gas within each chamber and allows ejection of the solder fromthe ejection port.

These and other advantages and features of the invention will be morereadily understood from the following detailed description of theinvention which is provided in connection with the accompanyingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a partial top view of a flip chip semiconductor dieconstructed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II—II of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view through a channel of asolder-ejecting print head used in forming the semiconductor die of FIG.1.

FIG. 4 is a partial top-view perspective of the print head of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view through the print head taken along lineV—V of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a thermal solder jet system inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of the steps involved in fabricating asemiconductor die in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 8-13 illustrate various stages of a semiconductor die beingconstructed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIGS. 1-2 illustrate a flip chip semiconductor die 50 fabricatedaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the invention. The semiconductordie 50 includes a substrate 53 containing fabricated semiconductordevices and features and metallurgy layers, an upper metallurgy layer52, an insulating layer 51, e.g. an oxide layer, and a passivating layer57. A plurality of conductive bond pads 54 are located on the insulatinglayer 51 surrounded by the passivating layer 57. Each bond pad 54 has acorresponding solder bump 56 on a surface thereof, creating a micro C-4ball array 61. The solder bumps 56 are formed of a solder material whichmay contain lead or which may be lead-free.

A respective via 58 extends from each bond pad 54 through the oxidelayer 51 to the upper metallurgy layer 52. Each via 58 is lined with aconductive material 59, allowing electrical connection between thesolder bumps 56 and circuitry on the metallurgy layer 52. Although theillustrated semiconductor die 50 shows the ball array 61 lining theouter edges thereof, it is to be appreciated that the solder bumps 56may be arrayed in rows and/or columns or in any desired pattern acrossan entire surface of the insulating layer 51. Also, although the upperlayers of the die 50 are shown as having one metallurgy layer 52, itshould be understood that the bond pads 54 may be electrically connectedthrough the vias 58 to other metallurgy layers of the die 50 besides theuppermost metallurgy layer 52.

Conventional semiconductor dies include solder bumps 56 having adiameter of 100 microns or more and a pitch between solder bumps of 100microns or more. The solder bumps 56 of the semiconductor die 50constructed in accordance with the invention have a diameter D of lessthan about 100 microns, and preferably as small as about 10 microns orless. Further, the semiconductor die 50 has a pitch P between solderbumps 56 within the same row or column of less than about 100 microns,and preferably about 10 microns or less. Since the diameter D and thepitch P are each about a magnitude smaller than conventional diametersand pitches, the potential density of connection sites, i.e., the solderbumps 56, on the semiconductor die 50 is greater than the density ofconnection sites on conventional semiconductor dies by about two ordersof magnitude.

FIGS. 3-5 illustrate a thermal solder jet apparatus capable ofdepositing the solder bumps 56 on the semiconductor die 50 connectionsites with a diameter and/or pitch less than 100 microns. In theillustrated thermal solder jet apparatus, liquid solder is ejected froman array of conduits by a burst of hydrogen gas created by thermallydecomposing a metallic compound such as a titanium hydride (TiH₂) film.

In the illustrated thermal solder jet apparatus, hydrogen gas pressurebursts are generated by heating small volumes of a metallic compound,such as titanium hydride (TiH₂), or other similar materials to theirdisassociation temperatures (usually on the order of 200 to 800° C.) ina relatively enclosed volume. The temperature at which the hydrogendisassociates from a given film depends on the particular hydrideinvolved. Vanadium hydride begins to decompose at temperatures of around200° C. while TiH₂ begins to decompose at around 500 to 600° C. Whilethe precise hydrogen desorption kinetics depends on such variables asgrain size and oxygen content, it is clear that hydrogen evolvesvirtually spontaneously from TiH₂ at temperatures between approximately600 and 700° C. While TiH₂ is preferred as the pressure source in theembodiment of the invention disclosed herein, other metal hydrides,oxides, and nitrides behave similarly and may also be useful.

The thermal solder jet apparatus illustrated in FIGS. 3-5 includes aprint head 10. The print head 10 is normally oriented such that a solderejection port 12 points downward in the direction of gravity duringoperation; however, FIGS. 3-5 are drawn at 90 degrees from thisorientation for clarity. One skilled in the art will recognize that theprint head 10 in an actual manufacturing environment would likely besuspended over an integrated circuit (or other appropriate substrate)for ejection of solder (or other appropriate liquid) thereupon. Also,the print head 10 would normally be connected to appropriate drive andcontrol electronics at contact pads 38 (FIG. 4) and to a stepper motorto position the print head 10 to appropriate locations over theintegrated circuit. Moreover, an ambient stream of an inert gas or asurrounding vacuum system is ordinarily used to prevent oxidation of thesolder during its ejection and to regulate cooling of the solder bumpson the integrated circuit. The vacuum may also be helpful in removingspent hydrogen gas from the thermal solder jet apparatus. However, sincethese details are known to one of skill and are not necessary forunderstanding the workings of the thermal solder jet apparatus, only thedetails of the print head 10, and not its surrounding environment, arediscussed in detail.

The print head 10 includes a transparent substrate 14, preferably formedof glass, which has a gas conduit 16 and a solder conduit 18 etchedtherein. The print head 10 also includes a wafer 20, preferablyincluding silicon, which has a solder feed-through 22 etched therein.The solder feed-through 22 is in fluid connection with the solderconduit 18. The various structures can be formed on the wafer 20 and thesubstrate 14 by a variety of different well-known processes known in theart of semiconductor fabrication, including the use of wet etching andreactive ion etching. The wafer 20 and the substrate 14 are separatelyprepared with the appropriate structures and then bonded together, forexample, by use of a low melting glass or epoxy, or by Mallory bonding.

Prior to the bonding of the wafer 20 and the substrate 14, a dielectricsuch as a silicon dioxide layer 25 is formed on the wafer 20. The layer25 can be either thermally grown or deposited, and may be selectivelyetched away in unwanted locations if desired. Thereafter, an array ofsmall islands (or a single large film) of titanium is formed on thelayer 25 by, for example, titanium sputtering and etching. The titaniumislands are then converted to TiH₂ islands 24 by exposing the titaniumto hydrogen at a temperature of approximately 300 to 500° C. At hydrogenpressures of 0.1 to 1.0 atmospheres, the titanium will be converted intoa hydride within a few tenths of seconds to a couple of minutes,depending on the specific hydrogenation conditions and the structuralmorphology and purity of the titanium. Note that this hydrogenation ofthe titanium can be accomplished after the wafer 20 is joined to thesubstrate 14.

The space in which a group of TiH₂ islands are found is referred toherein as a chamber 17. Each chamber 17 provides a source of pressurefor a single channel in the print head 10, the channel being thecombination of a chamber 17, the gas conduit 16, the solder conduit 18,the solder flow-through 22, and a solder ejection port 12, as shown incross-section in FIG. 3. In an actual commercial embodiment, the printhead 10 would likely have several channels (three are shown in FIG. 4)so that a row of solder bumps may be printed at one time.

A solder reservoir 26, which is preferably independently formed ofglass, is filled with a sufficient amount of solder 28 to produce adesired number of solder bumps, such as solder bumps 56, on theintegrated circuits, such as the semiconductor die 50, served by theprint head 10. The solder 28 may contain lead or may be lead-freesolder. The solder reservoir 26 may be joined to the wafer 20 in avariety of ways, including the use of a low melting glass or epoxy, orby Mallory bonding. The solder reservoir 26 itself can be formed inseveral ways. One way is to metallurgically cast the solder 28 into ashape that fits the reservoir 26. This cast can then be placed insidethe reservoir 26 before it is joined to the wafer 20. Alternatively, thesolder reservoir 26 can have a cover plate (not shown). In thisembodiment, the main body of the reservoir 26 may be joined to the wafer20 and then the solder cast is added. Then, the cover plate is joined tothe reservoir main body. This joining process, as one of skill in theart would recognize, depends on the melting temperature of the solder 28as well as the temperature needed to accomplish the bonding. The solderreservoir 26 also includes a vent hole 32 to equalize the pressureinside of the reservoir after an amount of solder has been ejected fromthe print head 10.

After connection of the reservoir 26 to the wafer 20 and duringoperation of the print head 10, a current may be passed through aheating element 30 which is built into or on the wafer 20 between it andthe solder reservoir 26. The heating element 30, which is preferably aresistive heating element, when activated provides a heating temperaturewhich exceeds the melting point of the solder 28 in the solder reservoir26, allowing the solder 28 to flow through the solder feed-through 22into the solder conduit 18 and out of the solder ejection port 12 whenejected. A suitable resistive heating element 30 can be fabricated in anumber of ways, but it is presently preferred to form the heatingelement 30 as a passivated thin film resistor, or a diffused resistorstructure built into the wafer 20. Furthermore, the geometry of theresistive heating element 30 is preferably a single serpentine structureunderlying the entire solder reservoir 26, although this is not shown.The two ends of the resistive heating element 30 can be connected to thecontact pads 38 (FIG. 4) so that current may be passed therethrough byelectronics (not shown) of the print head 10. Additionally, the printhead 10 may include additional temperature sensing and control circuitryto optimize the temperature of solder 28.

Prior to the interconnection of the wafer 20, the substrate 14, and thesolder reservoir 26, portions of the wafer 20 (including the solderflow-through 22) and the substrate 14 (including the solder conduit 18),and the interior of the solder reservoir 26, are covered by anon-oxidizable metal film. These portions are labeled S₁ in FIG. 3. Suchmetal films are preferably formed at portions S₁ by various well-knownprocesses including physical sputtering and chemical vapor deposition ofa suitable non-oxidizable metal, such as platinum, rhodium, palladium,gold and perhaps nickel (which forms only about 10 angstroms oftarnishing oxide under clean conditions). The function of thenon-oxidizable metal film is to treat those surfaces that will be incontact with the molten solder 28 during operation of the print head 10so that the solder 28 wets them. Due to surface tension effects, andassisted by gravity, the molten solder 28 will wet only the surfacescovered by the non-oxidizable metal film. In this manner, the solderconduit 18 will be “self-primed” with solder 28 after each ejectionevent.

The portions S₂ not coated with the non-oxidizable metal (including thegas conduit 16) are instead coated with a thermodynamically stable,clean oxide, such as silicon dioxide, aluminum oxide, etc. Theseportions are not wetted by the molten solder 28. Optionally, the S₂portions may be coated by other materials that control the incursion ofother liquids that might be used with this invention. A perfluoroalkoxycopolymer, such as a DuPont Teflon® 340 PFA, is one such example. Thispolymer has excellent high-temperature properties and the low surfaceenergy characteristic of Teflon®. While not necessary in an applicationinvolving the ejection of solder, a material such as Teflon® isnecessary when ejecting liquids that wet oxides. In any event, the forceof gravity tends to keep solder from flowing upwards by capillary actioninto the gas conduit 16 and the chamber 17 regardless of the surfacetreatment of the S₂ portions.

During operation of the print head 10, a small-spot (e.g., approximatelyone square micrometer) laser beam 34 is rastered through the substrate14 and onto the TiH₂ islands 24 to generate hydrogen within the chamber17. This sudden release of hydrogen creates a suitably high pressure ofhydrogen gas within the chamber 17 to eject the solder 28 in the solderconduit 18 out the solder ejection port 12 and onto the integratedcircuit below. Cooling fins 36 may be mounted on the top of wafer 20 toscreen from the chamber 17 the excessive heat generated by the laserbeam 34, thus minimizing the unwanted release of hydrogen from the TiH₂islands 24 that are not struck with the laser beam 34. As an alternativeto the laser beam, an array of passivated thin film resistors ordiffused resistors could be formed on or in the wafer 20 to rapidly heatthe TiH₂ islands 24 to their decomposition temperatures. However, inview of the large number of TiH₂ islands 24, the electronics to controlthe heating of each individual island 24 might be unnecessarilycomplicated when compared with the use of the laser beam 34.

The silicon dioxide layer 25 that underlies the TiH₂ islands 24optimizes heat transfer from the laser 34 to the islands 24. The layer25 is less thermally conductive than the underlying wafer 20, and thusserves to sharpen the temperature rise experienced by the TiH₂ islands24 during exposure to laser beam 34. In other words, the layer 25thermally isolates the TiH₂ islands 24 from the other components in thesystem. The thickness of the layer 25 should be thick enough to providea suitably quick temperature rise to the islands 24, but should also bethin enough to allow heat to diffuse from the islands 24 to the coolingfins 36 during the time period between strikes of the laser 34.Preferably, the thickness of the layer 25 may be between about 50 andabout 200 angstroms, as such a thickness would allow for reasonablyrapid cooling, which of the two parameters (quick temperature rise andheat diffusion) is the more important. Finite element analysis may beemployed to optimize the thickness of layer 25. In addition, thelocation at which the laser beam 34 strikes the TiH₂ islands 24 can varyto optimize the cooling of the chamber 17. For example, the laser beam34 can be made to strike an island 24 on the right side of the chamber17, followed by a strike on an island 24 on the left side of the chamber17, etc.

An example describing several critical parameters is now provided toshow the feasibility of printing an array of 80 by 80 solder bumps 56onto the semiconductor die 50, each bump 56 having a diameter D of 40microns, and being separated by a pitch of 100 microns. While thisexample is directed to producing a pitch of about 100 microns,preferably the pitch would be equal to or less than 10 microns. Tomaximize printing speed, the print head 10 should contain 80 solderejection ports 12 (and their related structures) separated at a distanceof 100 microns from each other to deposit solder bumps 56 at a pitch of100 microns. Obviously, for a pitch of equal to or less than 10 microns,the solder ejection ports 12 are to be separated at a distance of equalto or less than 10 microns.

A hemispherical solder bump 56 that is 40 microns in diameter D isequivalent to a cylindrical volume which is 40 microns in diameter and13.3 microns in length. Alternatively, a solder cylinder 53.2 microns inlength by 20 microns in diameter yields a solder bump of the samevolume. This assumes, of course, that surface tension forces aresufficient during the time of flight to significantly reshape theelongated projectile to a relatively rounded one or alternatively thatreshaping would take place mainly on the substrate. Assuming that thesolder 28 is predominantly composed of lead, and thus has a density ofapproximately 10 g/cm³, the mass of the solder bump 56 is approximately2.67×10⁻⁸ g, or 5.88×10⁻¹¹ lbs. Neglecting surface energy effects in thesolder conduit 18, the steady-state pressure required to support thatmass in a solder conduit 18 that is 40 micrometers in diameter isextremely small, approximately 3.0×10⁻⁵ lbs/in² or 2.0×10⁻⁶ atmospheres.

To deposit the solder bumps 56 with a pitch P of 100 microns, areasonably sized chamber 17 is needed. Such a chamber 17 can include acontinuous TiH₂ film or an array of TiH₂ islands 24 as shown in FIG. 4.With a chamber of this size, twenty thousand, TiH₂ islands 24 one squaremicrometer in area can be fabricated for each chamber 17, assuming thatthe TiH₂ film covers only twenty-five percent of the available chamberarea for any given channel.

Table 1 below provides estimates of the maximal hydrogen pressures thatare achievable for various sizes of chambers 17 and TiH₂ islands 24. Inmaking these estimates, it was assumed that all of the hydrogen isreleased from the indicated TiH₂ island. The hydrogen pressure isassumed to rise stepwise in this temporarily closed volume in a time(probably less than several microseconds) that is too short to realizesolder ejection from the solder ejection port 12. As one example, a 1 by1 by 3 cubic micrometer TiH₂ island 24 contains approximately 5.39×10⁻⁹cm³ of hydrogen at 25° C. and one atmosphere. If the space between thecover plate and the top of the TiH₂ film is set at one micrometer andthe TiH₂ film is assumed to be continuous (not patterned into islands),the hydrogen pressure buildup within the space in the 100 by 800 by 1cubic micrometer (8×10⁻⁸ cm³) chamber 17 will be approximately 0.07atmospheres, or one psi. The pressure required to support the mass of a40 micrometer diameter bump in a 40 micrometer diameter solder conduit18 was estimated to be only 3.0×10⁻⁵ psi. The force generated by thehydrogen release in this case is therefore over 30,000 times greaterthan that needed to support the mass of the solder 28. Indeed, in eachof the examples provided in Table 1, the estimated hydrogen pressure isat least a few orders of magnitude greater than the estimated pressureneeded to support the mass of solder 28, suggesting that the disclosedthermal solder jet apparatus operates as desired to effectuate suitableejection of the solder 28 out of the solder ejection port 12 to createthe solder bumps 56 on the semiconductor die 50.

Unlike the piezoelectric print heads of conventional apparatus, thedisclosed embodiments can be made to function at higher temperatures ifit is desirable to increase the ejection velocity. The diffusivity ofhydrogen in titanium coupled with the relative thinness of the TiH₂sources indicates that the hydrogen can be released in less than amicrosecond, provided the hydride temperature can be raised just asrapidly to values on the order of approximately 700 to 800° C.Notwithstanding these physical observations, the fact that the chamberpressure is a few orders of magnitude greater than that necessary tosupport the solder mass (as discussed in the last paragraph) suggeststhat the ejection velocity of any of the embodiments disclosed in Table1 will be sufficient.

It is essential to remove at least part of the hydrogen inside thechamber 17 after the solder 28 is ejected. Otherwise the solder conduit18 cannot be primed anew with fresh solder 28 via capillary action.Since the capillary forces are quite strong, however, it is probablyonly necessary to reduce the hydrogen pressure in the chamber 17 to avalue that is perhaps one or two orders of magnitude below the maximumejection pressure. In this regard, estimates were made of the timerequired for hydrogen removal assuming that the print head 10 wasoperating in a vacuum ambient. For the purpose of this estimation, thehydrogen outflow through the channel can be treated as a viscous gasflow through a cylindrical tube. Assume that this tube is 40 micrometersin diameter by 80 micrometers in length, the conductance of air isapproximately 53×10⁻³ CM³/sec through a tube of these dimensions at 25°C., and the conductance of hydrogen is about twice this value. Factoringin such parameters as the average mean free path allows one to determinethe time to evacuate a chamber from atmospheric pressure to varioussmaller values. For the small volume (about 8×10⁻⁸ CM³) of the chamberdisclosed, a conductance of about 53×10⁻³ CM³/sec is sufficient to lowerthe pressure in the chamber 17 from 10⁶ to 10⁵ microns of mercury inabout 6.3×10⁻⁷ seconds. An additional 6.3×10⁻⁶ seconds will lower thepressure by yet another order of magnitude.

Thus, it is estimated that the solder conduit 18 will be refilled withsolder 28 in perhaps 10 to 20 microseconds. This is an improvement overthermal ink jet print heads of the same dimension, which take less thana millisecond to refill. However, if it is conservatively assumed thatthe disclosed embodiment will take one millisecond to refill, any givenchannel in the disclosed print head 10 could operate at an ejection rateof about 10³ Hz. Thus, it would take about 80 milliseconds to print anintegrated circuit with an array of 80 by 80 solder bumps. Since thenumber of TiH₂ islands 24 in each channel can vary from roughly 10,000to 40,000, a print head built in accordance with the disclosedembodiment should be able to print between 125 to 500 integratedcircuits.

TABLE 1 ESTIMATED CHAMBER PRESSURES FOR VARIOUS GEOMETRIES ReleasableChamber H₂ Chamber Chamber Free Vol. TiH₂ Volume Press. Area Ht. (cm³)Area Ht. (cm³) atm psi 100 × 800 1 8 × 10⁻⁸ 1 3 5.46 × 10⁻⁹ 0.068 1.0100 × 800 5 40 × 10⁻⁸  1 3 5.46 × 10⁻⁹ 0.014 0.2 100 × 400 1 4 × 10⁻⁸ 25 1.82 × 10⁻⁸ 0.46 6.70 100 × 100 5 5 × 10⁻⁸ 9 10 1.64 × 10⁻⁷ 3.3 48.2 100 × 10³  10  1 × 10⁻⁸ 9 10 1.64 × 10⁻⁷ 0.16 2.4

The Chamber and TiH₂ heights are in micrometers, while the H₂ volumesare at standard temperature and pressure, or 60° F. and 14.7 psia. TheChamber height refers to the distance between the top of the hydride andthe cover plate.

FIG. 6 illustrates a system for depositing the solder bumps 56 on aplurality of semiconductor dies 50. As shown in FIG. 6, a plurality ofprint heads 10 may be mounted on a movable drive, such as a rotatingshaft 60, to allow movement of the print heads 10 in a direction X.Additionally, semiconductor dies 50 may be positioned upon a movablesubstrate 65 so that they may be moved in a direction Y underneath theprint heads 10. Both the shaft 60 and the movable substrate 65 areconnected with a controller 70 which controls and choreographs themovements of the dies 50 and the print heads 10 in order to accuratelydeposit solder bumps 56 on the dies 50. By linking multiple print heads10 together, several steps can be done serially at each bond pad 54. Forexample, a first print head 10 may be filled with a cleaning agent, andduring its pass over the dies 50 it ejects small drops of the cleaningagent to remove unwanted tarnishing surface oxides. A second print head10 may include adhesive metal or alloy, which it ejects on each of thebond pads 54. A third print head 10, which includes the bumpingmetallurgy, such as the solder 28, ejects the solder 28 on the bond pads54 to create the solder bumps 56. Alternatively, if larger connectionsites are desired, multiple passes of the third print head 10 canincrease the size of the solder bumps 56. And finally, a fourth printhead 10 may include a passivation material which is suitable to preventor retard the growth of tarnishing oxides which may grow during storageof the dies 50.

Instead of having each linked print head 10 depositing differentmaterials, any number of or all of the linked print heads 10 may depositthe same material. Further, successive print heads 10 may each deposit asingle element which, when combined with the other deposited elements,forms the solder bumps 56.

Furthermore, the controller 70 may control the actions of the movablesubstrate 65 and the shaft 60 such that the placement of solder bumps 56may be personalized from die 50 to die 50 and across a single die 50.Additionally, since the thermal solder jet apparatus may be operatedunder a curtain of inert gas, deposition of the solder bumps 56 may beaccomplished at a lower cost, since a vacuum system is not required.Also, the thermal solder jet apparatus is relatively inexpensive and isrelatively highly reliable, both factors of which will further lessenproduction costs.

A method of producing a semiconductor die 50 having an array of solderbumps 56 will next be described with reference to FIGS. 7-13. Theprocess begins with the fabrication of the uppermost metallurgy layer 52of the die 50. At step 100, the metallurgy layer 52 including circuitryis deposited on the substrate 53 (FIGS. 7-8). An oxide layer 51 is thendeposited on the metallurgy layer 52 at step 110 (FIGS. 7, 9). In apreferred embodiment, the oxide layer 51 is chemical vapor deposited onthe metallurgy layer 52 and then planerized through chemical mechanicalpolishing. The vias 58 are then etched in the oxide layer 51 at step120. Preferably, a resist layer is deposited over the oxide layer and avia hole pattern is developed in the resist layer, allowing accurateetching of the vias 58. At step 130, the bond pads 54 and any surfacecircuitry are patterned and deposited (FIGS. 7, 10-11). Preferably, aresist layer 80 is deposited on the oxide layer 51 and patterns for thesurface circuitry and the bond pads 54 are exposed. The resist ispatterned to expose the surface circuitry, leaving resist where no metalis desired. Then, metal is deposited in the pattern. In a preferredembodiment, the metal deposited in a pattern within the oxide layer 51includes a metallurgical stack of 500 angstroms of zirconium, followedby 750 angstroms of nickel, 5,000 angstroms of copper, and 750 angstromsof gold. This level of metallurgy provides both a last wiring level andis the pad limiting metallurgy. Any unwanted metal may be lifted offusing a tape liftoff. The remaining resist layer 80 is removed. Then, atstep 140 a polymer material 57, preferably a polyimide, is spun on theoxide layer 51 and over the bond pads 54 and cured (FIGS. 7, 12). Thepolyimide serves as a passivation layer, or an insulator. This isfollowed with the deposition of a photoresist material 84 which isimaged at the bond pads 54. The photoresist material 84 is developed andthe image is transferred through the photoresist material 84 and thepolyimide material 57 using appropriate RIE processes. Then thephotoresist material 84 is stripped.

After printing the bond pad pattern, at step 150 the bond pads 54 arepre-cleaned (FIG. 7). Specifically, a print head 10 which is filled witha cleaning agent passes over the dies 50 and ejects small drops of thecleaning agent to remove unwanted tarnishing surface oxides. Then, ifrequired, at step 160 an adhesive metal is deposited on the bond pads54. For example, if solder 28 formed of a lead-tin composition isdeposited on bond pads 54 formed of gold, no adhesive material would berequired. This may be accomplished by passing another print head 10having the adhesive metal or alloy over the bond pads 54. Then, yetanother print head 10, which includes the bumping metallurgy, such asthe solder 28, is passed over the bond pads 54 at step 170, ejecting thesolder 28 on the bond pads 54 to create the solder bumps 56. Finally, afourth print head 10 may be passed over the dies 50 to eject apassivation material onto the solder bumps 56 at step 180. Thepassivation material prevents or retards the growth of tarnishing oxideswhich may grow during storage of the dies 50. After step 180, the dies50 which are still part of a wafer can be diced and flipped onto anappropriate substrate.

while the invention has been described in detail in connection withexemplary embodiments known at the time, it should be readily understoodthat the invention is not limited to such disclosed embodiments. Rather,the invention can be modified to incorporate any number of variations,alterations, substitutions or equivalent arrangements not heretoforedescribed, but which are commensurate with the spirit and scope of theinvention. For example, while a thermal solder jet apparatus isdescribed as being used to produce the flip chip semiconductor dies ofthe invention, it should be appreciated that the invention is notlimited to being produced by such an apparatus. Accordingly, theinvention is not to be seen as limited by the foregoing description, butis only limited by the scope of the appended claims.

1. A method of depositing solder material, said method comprising thesteps of: introducing a first solder component into at least a firstsolder conduit of a print head, wherein said first solder conduit hasfirst and second openings; providing a gas source; and pressurizing gasfrom said source in a chamber of said print head which is in fluidcommunication with at least said first opening, wherein said firstsolder component introduced in said first solder conduit is notintroduced into said chamber, said pressurized gas flowing to said firstsolder conduit and causing said first solder component to be ejectedfrom said second opening, thereby depositing said first solder componenton a connection site on a receiving element.
 2. The method of claim 1,further comprising moving said print head relative to said receivingelement and depositing said first solder component at a plurality ofconnection sites on said receiving element.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein said deposition further comprises: moving said print headrelative to said receiving element; and depositing a second soldercomponent on said connection site on said receiving element from asecond solder conduit of said print head, wherein the first and secondsolder components mix at said connection site on said receiving elementto form a solder material.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein said soldercomponent is a solder material.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein saiddeposition further comprises: moving at least a second print headrelative to said receiving element; and depositing a second soldercomponent on said connection site on said receiving element from atleast one solder conduit of said second print head, wherein the firstand second solder components on said connection site mix to form asolder material.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein said connection siteis a bond pad and said method further comprising pre-cleaning the bondpad prior to depositing said first solder component.
 7. The method ofclaim 6, further comprising depositing an adhesive metal between saidpre-cleaning and said depositing of the first solder component.
 8. Themethod of claim 7, further comprising adding a passivation material ontothe deposited first solder component.
 9. The method of claim 1, whereinsaid deposition comprises depositing the first solder component multipletimes at a single location.
 10. The method of claim 2, wherein a pitchbetween two adjacent ones of said plurality of connection sites on whichsaid first solder component is deposited is less than about 100 microns.11. The method of claim 10, wherein a pitch between two adjacent ones ofsaid plurality of connection sites on which said first solder componentis deposited is less than about 25 microns.
 12. The method of claim 1,wherein said first solder component has a diameter of about 10 micronsor less as deposited on said connection site on said receiving element.13. The method of claim 1, wherein said introducing and pressurizingsteps are repeated on said receiving element such that a diameter ofsaid solder component is greater than 10 microns as deposited on saidconnection site on said receiving element.
 14. The method of claim 4,wherein said introducing and pressurizing steps are repeated on saidreceiving element such that a diameter of said solder material isgreater than 10 microns as deposited on said connection site on saidreceiving element.
 15. A method of depositing solder material, saidmethod comprising the steps of: introducing a solder material into asolder conduit of a print head, wherein said conduit has at least firstand second openings; providing a gas source; and pressurizing gas fromsaid source in a chamber of said print head which is in fluidcommunication with at least said first opening of said conduit, whereinsaid solder material introduced in said solder conduit is not introducedinto said chamber, said pressurized gas flowing to said solder conduitand causing said solder material to be ejected from said second openingof said solder conduit; and depositing said solder material on aplurality of connection sites on a receiving element.
 16. The method ofclaim 15, wherein said solder material has a diameter of about 10microns or less as deposited on said connection site on said receivingelement.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein said print head is passedover said receiving element more than once such that said soldermaterial has a diameter greater than 10 microns on said connection siteson said receiving element.
 18. The method of claim 15, wherein saidprint head moves with respect to said receiving element to deposit saidsolder material at the plurality of connection sites on said receivingelement.
 19. A method of depositing solder material, said methodcomprising the steps of: introducing a first solder component into afirst solder conduit of a print head, wherein said first solder conduithas at least first and second openings; introducing at least a secondsolder component into a second solder conduit of said print head,wherein said second solder conduit has at least first and secondopenings; providing a gas source; and pressurizing gas from said sourcein at least first and second chambers of said print head which are influid communication with said first openings of said first and secondsolder conduits, respectively, wherein said first and second soldercomponents introduced in said first and second solder conduits,respectively, are not introduced into said first and second chambers,said pressurized gas flowing to said first and second solder conduitsand causing said first and second solder components to be ejected fromsaid second openings of said first and second solder conduits, therebyrespectively depositing said first and second solder components on atleast a first and a second connection site on a receiving element. 20.The method of claim 19, wherein said print head moves with respect tosaid receiving element to deposit said second solder component on saidfirst connection site.
 21. The method of claim 20, wherein said firstand second solder components mix at said first connection site to form asolder material.
 22. The method of claim 19, wherein said first andsecond solder components are solder materials.
 23. The method of claim19, wherein said solder components have a diameter of about 10 micronsor less on said connection sites on said receiving element.
 24. Themethod of claim 23, wherein said print head is passed over saidreceiving element more than once such that a diameter of said first andsecond solder components is greater than 10 microns on said connectionsites on said receiving element.
 25. A method of depositing soldermaterial, said method comprising the steps of: introducing a firstsolder component into a first solder conduit of a first print head,wherein said first solder conduit has at least first and secondopenings; introducing at least a second solder component into at least asecond solder conduit of a second print head, wherein said second solderconduit has at least first and second openings; providing a gas source;pressurizing gas from said source in a first chamber of said first printhead which is in fluid communication with said first opening of saidfirst solder conduit, wherein said first solder component introduced insaid first solder conduit is not introduced into said first chamber,said pressurized gas flowing to said first solder conduit and causingsaid first solder component to be ejected from said second opening ofsaid first solder conduit, deposit said first solder component on aconnection site on a receiving element; and pressurizing gas from saidsource in at least a second chamber of said second print head which isin fluid communication with said first opening of said second solderconduit, wherein said second solder component introduced in said secondsolder conduit is not introduced into said second chamber, saidpressurized gas flowing to said second solder conduit and causing saidsecond solder component to be ejected from said second opening of saidsecond solder conduit, to deposit said second solder component on saidconnection site on said receiving element.
 26. The method of claim 25,wherein said first and second print heads move with respect to saidreceiving element, depositing said solder components onto a plurality ofconnection sites on said receiving element.
 27. The method of claim 26,wherein said first print head passes over said connection sites anddeposits said first solder component before said second print headpasses over said connection sites and deposits said second soldercomponent.
 28. The method of claim 27, wherein said first and secondsolder components mix at said connection sites to form a soldermaterial.
 29. The method of claim 26, wherein said first and secondsolder components are simultaneously deposited at different connectionsites on said receiving element.
 30. The method of claim 25, whereinsaid first and second solder components are solder materials.
 31. Themethod of claim 25, wherein said solder components have a diameter ofabout 10 microns or less on said connection site on said receivingelement.
 32. A method of depositing solder material, said methodcomprising the steps of: introducing a solder component into a pluralityof solder conduits of a print head, wherein said solder conduits have atleast first and second openings; providing a gas source; andpressurizing gas from said source in a plurality of chambers of saidprint head which are in fluid communication with said first openings ofsaid conduits, wherein said solder component introduced in said solderconduits is not introduced into said chambers, said pressurized gasflowing to said solder conduits and causing said solder component to beejected from said second openings to deposit said solder component on aplurality of connection sites on a receiving element.
 33. The method ofclaim 32, wherein the diameter of said deposited solder components onsaid connection sites is about 10 microns or less.
 34. The method ofclaim 32, wherein a pitch between two adjacent ones of said plurality ofconnection sites on which said solder component is deposited is lessthan about 25 microns.
 35. The method of claim 32, wherein said printhead moves with respect to said receiving element to deposit said soldercomponent to another plurality of connection sites on said receivingelement.
 36. The method of claim 32, further comprising: passing atleast a second print head having a second plurality of solder conduitsover said receiving element; introducing at least a second soldercomponent into said second plurality of solder conduits of said secondprint head, wherein said second solder conduits have at least first andsecond openings; and pressurizing gas in a plurality of chambers of saidsecond print head which are in fluid communication of at least saidfirst openings of said conduits, wherein said second solder componentintroduced in said second solder conduits is not introduced into saidchambers, said pressurized gas flowing to said second solder conduitsand causing said second solder component to be ejected from said secondopenings of said second solder conduits, thereby depositing said secondsolder component on each of said connection sites on said receivingelement.
 37. The method of claim 36, wherein said first and secondsolder components mix at said connection sites to form a soldermaterial.